Lost-vivor: Preseason Recap

Charlie: When we last saw Charlie, he was acting more than a little odd. Is he suffering the after-effects of the magnetic forces unleashed by the Swan’s fail-safe? Has he contracted the Sickness? Is he back on the smack? Has he morphed into Evil Charlie again? Either way, it looks like he’s reconciling with Claire, so maybe we won’t have to see as much of him skulking around camp with his hoodie pulled up this season.

Claire: Claire’s special talents include sitting around the beach, being pregnant, speaking with an Australian accent, getting kidnapped, screaming, having a baby, freaking out about her baby’s safety, and screaming some more. As noted above, she seems to have reconciled with Charlie (who also recently supplied Claire and baby Aaron with some vaccines of indeterminate origin). I also have a hunch that Claire will be revealed as Jack’s half-sister this season.

Desmond: Joining the Lost-vivors this season is Desmond, the lone resident of the Hatch at the time of Flight 815’s crash. After an attempted escape, Desmond arrived back on the island just in time for the Season Two finale. Soon after his return, he was instrumental in activating the Swan’s fail-safe mechanism, generating the electromagnetic discharge that made the island momentarily visible to the outside world. One might assume the discharge killed Desmond, but I suspect he’ll return for Season Three, bringing to the table his awesome Scottish accent and catchphrases like “You have to lift it up, brotha,” and “See you in another life, brotha.” Plus, several female Lost-vivor fans assure me that Desmond is “dreamy,” so I can only imagine that will work to his advantage this season.

Eko: Mr. Eko is the man. Ever since Man of Faith Locke turned into Self-Doubting, Navel-Gazing Locke, Eko has filled the gap nicely — speaking softly and carrying a big Jesus stick. When we last saw him at the end of Season Two, this drug-runner-turned-priest had abandonded work on building his island church to move to the Hatch and push the button. Eko was there with Locke and Desmond at the time of the discharge and was quite possibly killed. I suspect Eko will return for Season Three, however, and he currently stands as an early Lost-vivor favorite considering his physical abilities, his common sense, and the aforementioned Jesus stick. He can bring the pain with that thing, yo.

Hurley: Everybody loves Hurley, right? Will the former mental patient/lottery winner continue to be haunted by the Numbers in Season Three? As Season Two drew to a close, Hurley’s budding romance with Libby was brought to an abrupt end when Michael shot and killed her. Hurley was also on the list of the four Lost-vivors the Others instructed Michael to bring to their camp in the finale. The Others chose to release Hurley, sending him back to camp to tell the other castaways not to come after Jack, Sawyer, and Kate. It’s worth noting, however, that Hurley overheard the bearing used by Michael to escape from the island. Will he use this information to his advantage and rack up a few extra Lost-vivor points? Probably not.

Jack: Arguably the star of the show, one might expect Jack to dominate the Lost-vivor rankings. I don’t think that will be the case, though. Thanks to his ongoing feuds with Locke and Sawyer (over leadership issues and Kate’s affections, respectively), I suspect Jack will continue to spin his wheels, taking one step back for every step he takes forward. At the end of Season Two, Jack was among the Lost-vivors being held by the Others, and Season Three promos suggest he’s planning an escape. Knowing Jack, though, once he escapes, he’ll do something silly like decide to trust Henry Gale again. That’s Jack for you; one step forward, one step back.

Jin: I’m going out on a limb and picking Jin as a definite darkhorse contender for the Lost-vivor championship. A crime boss’s thug back in Korea, Jin has a knack for flying under the radar. The last time we saw him, he was on Desmond’s boat with Sayid and Sun. Will they mount a rescue attempt to free Jack, Sawyer, and Kate from the Others? Meanwhile, Sun is pregnant. But, is it Jin’s baby? The intrigue could lead to big points in Lost-vivor.

Kate: Of all the Lost-vivors, Kate is perhaps the biggest mystery. A fugitive from the law, she quickly emerged as a leader following the crash of Flight 815. As the series has progressed, however, she’s become little more than a prize in Jack and Sawyer’s neverending pissing contest. At the end of Season Two, she was among the Losties being held by the Others. There’s part of me that hopes she’s been in league with the bad guys all along, and that she’s just been playing Jack and Sawyer. Realistically, however, I suspect another season of “Will they or won’t they?” and “Who will she choose?” drama is in store.

Locke: John Locke is pictured to the right eating a box cereal, because that’s just about the most exciting thing he did in Season Two. After starting out the series as a skilled survivalist with a mysterious connection to the island, Locke’s obsession with the Hatch and pushing the button turned him into one of the weaker characters among the Lost-vivors by the end of the second season. Along with Eko and Desmond, he was trapped in the Swan at the time of the discharge, but promos for Season Three seem to show Locke back in the jungle acting like his old self again. If Locke really is back to being Season One Locke, he’ll be tough to beat.

Sawyer: Like Jack, Sawyer has a knack for spinning his wheels. For instance, in Season Two’s “The Long Con,” Sawyer manipulates half the camp in order to gain control of the guns. Plus 83 points, right? Well, roughly two episodes later, when Jack decided he wanted a gun, he just went and got it back from Sawyer. Minus 83 points, for a net gain of zero points. It’s the same story with the medical supplies and Kate’s affections. In the Season Two finale, Sawyer was among the Lost-vivors captured by the Others. Will he manage to con his way to freedom? Will he hook up with Kate? Or will he and Jack finally drop the charade and just start making out with each other? I’d say the first two are more likely than the last one.

Sayid: Now here’s a Lost-vivor who has what it takes to win. He’s strong, smart, and almost always right (about Henry Gale being a fake, about Michael being compromised, et cetera). Sure, he hit a bump in the road when his girlfriend Shannon was killed last season, but by the finale, he was back on track and readying an assault on the Others’ camp. Of course, the camp turned out to be a decoy, so maybe Sayid isn’t always right after all.

Sun: Sun and Jin have finally reconciled, but Sun’s pregnancy could muck things up again. Jin was supposedly infertile before coming to the island, and while Sun swears she hasn’t been with another man, she did have a rather close relationship with her English teacher prior to Flight 815. Of course, the island seems to have strange healing properties. Perhaps Jin is its latest beneficiary. When we last saw Sun, she was on Desmond’s boat with Jin and Sayid, possibly planning an assault on the Others.

Vincent: An early favorite to win, considering Vincent doesn’t do stupid stuff like hang out in mysterious Hatches or provoke the Others. Then again, he’s been missing in action for several episodes. With Walt off the island and Vincent’s erstwhile caretaker Shannon dead, have we seen the last of our canine Lost-vivor? Or will he continue to demonstrate his knack for showing up when there’s trouble afoot?